If it wasn't for irrigation, country club would still be Newport's

If golf course superintendents and agronomists understood water irrigation in 1923 the way they do today, Santa Ana Country Club would never have moved from the Castaways to its location on Newport Boulevard in Santa Ana Heights.

Imagine what it would be like if the club remained at its picturesque spot high above the cliffs at Upper Newport Bay, with views of the ocean and bay?

During the club's time at the 160-acre site at the Castaways on the west side of Newport Beach from 1912 to 1923, it was called Orange County Country Club.

Here's an excerpt from the Newport News: "The Orange County Country Club overlooking Newport Bay continues to be the chief attraction of the pleasure-loving people of Orange County and is attracting attention not only over Southern California, but its fame is beginning to penetrate east as it is a fact that from a scenic standpoint the course has it over anything in the country. The course is also 'sporty' enough to try the ability of the most expert players."

At the time of the commentary (April 1914), golf was mostly played on oil-soaked sand for "greens" and hard dirt for fairways. When grass began to change golf's landscape, courses everywhere converted and wanted a piece of the action.

Orange County Country Club moved from the Castaways to Santa Ana Heights for irrigation purposes and changed its name to Santa Ana Country Club. The bluffs at the Castaways lacked sufficient water supply for an irrigation system to accommodate a grass golf course. After club members decided on its current location, in which a water irrigation system could be built, what followed was a beautiful golf layout by Scotland's John Duncan Dunn (no relation to yours truly), the original course architect. Since then, the course has been updated and remodeled several times.

Dunn's original layout included a six-hole ladies-only course, but it was never built, and as club lore has it, remained a source of controversy for many years.

By the 1940s, Santa Ana Country Club had become a golf haven and outpost for high society. During World War II, the club hosted several celebrities, including Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and raised money for the Army Emergency Relief Fund.

The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, as well as golf legends Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, played at the club during WWII while stationed at nearby Santa Ana Army Air Base (now the OC Fair & Event Center). Snead was stationed at Camp Pendleton and would come up to play Hogan in private rounds.

Imagine what kind of media interest a Snead-Hogan matchup would stir up today?

Snead, Hogan and Byron Nelson established a golden era for golf following the Great Depression, transforming how the game was played and how society viewed it. They paved the way for golf's great popularity, setting the stage for players like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and eventually Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Hosting Snead and Hogan for a round of golf is like the ending of "Rocky III" when Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa square off in a private ring at the end of the movie, without anyone knowing the outcome of two great champions going head to head.

Santa Ana was Orange County's only private golf club for most of the 1950s, when electric golf carts appeared and golfers used to own their carts. That stopped in 1955 when the club realized that rentals would provide a steady income.

Since 1965, the club (and its land) has attempted to become annexed by Santa Ana, Costa Mesa or Newport Beach, but it remains an unincorporated part of Orange County. In recent years, the club has strongly desired to become annexed by Newport Beach, but to no avail. The club is in Costa Mesa's sphere of influence.

Another chapter of Santa Ana Country Club's 112-year history will be written Aug. 5-11 as the club hosts its 65th Invitational, the oldest golf invitational in Orange County. Opulent prizes, exquisite dining experiences and memorable player parties are some of the perks for golfers and their families.

The Santa Ana Invitational is a championship that begins with two days of stroke play. Two-man teams qualify for match play in six flights, including the championship flight, based upon scores in the 36-hole stroke play.

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